


The Childhood of Byleth Eisner

by Emsomnia



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Byleth meets people she meets later on, F/M, childhood AU, eventual Claude x Byleth, she doesn’t remember these things, starting off with something I thought would be interesting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:21:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22676266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emsomnia/pseuds/Emsomnia
Summary: There are events in Byleth’s memory that she pushed down and forgot about, as did the others.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth & Claude von Riegan, My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 5
Kudos: 44





	1. Byleth and the Saint

“Byleth, be a good girl and stay with Erika and Jan while I’m off on the job, okay?” Her father had asked her. Byleth looked up at her father and gave him a small nod.

“Now, I won’t be gone too long. See you when I get back,” he kissed the top of her head before standing and joining the other mercenaries. As much as Byleth wanted to join her father, she was only six years old and lacked the abilities. On the bright side, she’d never been to this town before. It was a small, somewhat coastal town in Enbar. Sea salt filled the air, as well as the smell of fish.

“Alright, kid, looks like you’re helping us with groceries!” Erika told her. Jan stood at her side, tall and a man of few words. Byleth could relate to the latter of the pair. They began to walk, trusting Byleth to follow dutifully. Which she did. For awhile.

As they arrived at the docks and the two mercenaries began to purchase seafood from the vendors, Byleth found her eyes following a man who she could have sworn she knew. He was tall, broad shouldered and adorned a mop of green hair on his head. He was carrying a fishing rod with him, but had no bait,

Stealing a quick look at her babysitters, she decided to ditch them, determined to follow the green haired man.

The man hummed contently as he set up at the dock, feet hanging off the end as he fished merely for fun. He cast his hook and allowed himself to relax as he began his game of waiting.

“I know you.” The man jumped as Byleth spoke suddenly. He turned around and saw the small, blue haired child watch him. A child with no light in her eyes.

“I can assure you that you and I have never met, little one,” the man told her. Byleth frowned and moved closer to him, sitting down next to him on the dock.

“Then how come I know you?” She asked him. He sighed.

“I’m afraid I do not know the answer to your question. Might I ask where your parents are? You’re awfully young to be out and about on your own.”

“I don’t have a mama, but Papa’s out on a job… Erika and Jan are supposed to be watching me, but I wanted to talk to you instead.”

“You should go back to them! Do you know how worried they must be because you left them?!” The man asked, suddenly extremely stern. Byleth shook her head,

“They’ll find me. This isn’t the first time they’ve lost me,” she admitted. The man furrowed his eyebrows, unsure of how to respond. 

“I suppose staying out in one place might make it easier for them to find you,” the man gave up. “But don’t think I’m letting you wonder off. There are ruffians who would take advantage of such a small child off on their own…”

Byleth’s thoughts trailed off to her recurring dream, the face of the creepy looking man the green haired lady called ‘Nemesis’ came to mind. Her mind then lingered on that dream…

“I know how I know you,” she finally realized aloud. The green haired man looked down at her, curious as to what her response may be. She looked up, a small glimmer appearing in her normally lifeless looking eyes. “Cichol. You’re Cichol from my dream.” The man dropped his fishing rod into the water, eyes locked in the small child.

“...What dream might that be?” He asked. Byleth returned his ever piercing gaze with her own. 

“I have dreams of a giant war. A pretty lady fights a creepy man named Nemesis. You were there too. On a wyvern. And-“

“There you are, you little brat!” Jan shouted. Byleth froze. If he was yelling,it was bad. Byleth stood up from the edge of the dock.

“You had us worried, kid!!!” Erika shouted at her. She extended her hand so that Byleth could take it. Byleth sighed and took the woman’s hand, annoyed she couldn’t continue her conversation with ‘Cichol’ any longer. He watched the small child be dragged away by the two mercenaries.

“How could such a small child remember the last battle of the War of Heroes….” he muttered to himself. He remembered the dark times and his mind turned to his precious daughter. He stood up and immediately went to her.

“So, Byleth, how was your day?” Jeralt asked her. Jan and Erika dared not tell him she ran off for fear that she would spill the beans on how many times they had lost her and it was their fault. 

“I met someone today,” she told him.

“Oh yeah? What was their name?”

“Cichol.”


	2. Byleth and the Almyran Apothecary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Byleth accidentally gets poisoned while in Almyra

Byleth found herself surrounded by a culture she did not know. Word of Jeralt the Blade Breaker had made its way to Almyra, a land beyond the border of Fodlan. When they received word that an Almyran merchant from the capital was willing to pay big money to Jeralt for him to go and clear a path on the merchant’s supply route that had recently become full of notorious bandits. While Byleth was now old enough to hold a sword in her hand and learn, she was not ready to participate in such a mission. She was just 11 years old.

“Do you have the dagger I gave you?” Jeralt asked her. Byleth nodded, patting the blade that hung from her waist. “How about the knife?” She patted her boot. He laughed. “And how about the little vial of antidote I gave ya?” She then proceeded to show it to him from her jacket pocket. He pat her head.

“How long will you be gone?” She asked him.

“A few days, I’m afraid,” he told her, “Don’t cause too much trouble while I’m gone, kiddo. I’m sure Jan and Erika will tell me.” He shot a glare at the bumbling pair of mercenaries. Byleth nodded once more.

“Don’t die, Papa,” She told him. He laughed.

“Don’t expect me to, kid,” He gave her a pat on the head. “I love you. See you in a few days.” He didn’t know why he expected more, but she simply gave him a look that could only be her way of expressing it. She didn’t know how else. He turned and joined the rest of the mercenaries as they prepared to leave.

It had been a boring day, so Byleth, out of pure boredom, decided to sneak off and wander the city. She found that the city was vast and full of people who were more focused on the fact that she looked soulless than the fact that she was Fodlanese. Which worked to her advantage, admittedly.

As she traversed the city, she found that she had made her way towards the center, near the castle which was bigger than anything she had ever seen before. She was almost completely taken by the castle's beauty when she was pulled out of her head. She saw a boy run into an alleyway. She quirked her head and decided to follow him, the boy having looked scared.

As she entered the alleyway, she made her way down it, pulling out one of her daggers just in case. Once the boy came in sight, she found him hiding behind a trash can. He saw her, at first awe appearing in his eyes, but then panic as he jumped out.

“Daha fazla yaklaşma! Bir tuzak var!” The boy shouted at her. Byleth quirked her head.

“I don’t speak Almyran,” She informed him. He panicked and switched languages, speaking with an accent.

“Don’t come any closer! There’s a trap!” He clarified. Byleth froze in her place.

“A trap for who?” The boy didn’t have to answer as Byleth heard shouting in the native tongue. She spun around and saw a group of older boys, around her age, appear.

“Seni buldum, sıçan,” The leader growled. He looked at Byleth with her drawn dagger. “Acınası. Seni korumak için bir kız mı buldun?” He further hissed. Byleth knew he was talking about her. She realized that these boy were out for the younger one’s blood.

“Time for a lesson in how to treat people,” Byleth announced. The small boy ogled at her. Byleth charged the group of boys, dagger drawn. The leader attempted to scare her off by drawing his own, bigger dagger, but when he saw that she wasn’t phased, he realized things were getting serious.

“Soluk Şeytan!” The boy gasped. She swung her dagger at him, not afraid to strike him. He swung back, catching her arm. Even then, she didn’t blink an eye, just continued to fight. The boy managed to land a kick on Byleth, sending her stumbling back.

“No no no!” The small boy shouted as he realized where her foot was about to land. Click. A puff of smoke appeared and Byleth began to cough as she breathed it in. The leader of the group realized what it was and grabbed his friends and ran. The small boy grabbed her arm and led her away from it, careful not to breath it in himself.

“What was that?” She asked the boy.

“Poison not intended for you!” He explained. He patted himself down, but realized he had dropped his bottle of antidote. The look on his face explained everything. Byleth reached into her pouch and showed him the vial. The boy almost looked as if he had fallen in love with her the moment she revealed the vial. “Let me see that!” He asked her. She handed it to him and he popped open the cap and smelled it. “This will tie you over for now!” He gave her the vial back and urged her to drink it. “Follow me! I know where to get the antidote!” He grabbed her hand and practically dragged her.

Needless to say, Byleth was in awe when she realized he had taken her to the castle she had been admiring earlier. However, some of the awe was taken away as she felt herself growing hot and her stomach begin to churn. The poison was beginning to take effect.

“Habibi!” A booming voice shouted. The two of them spun around and they saw an intimidating woman. Byleth realized that the woman was from Fodlan. “Neden burada bir Fodlanese kızı var?” 

“Yanlışlıkla zehirlendi! Ona davranıyorum,” The boy responded. The woman looked to Byleth and paused.

“You are the Blade Breaker’s child?” She asked Byleth. Byleth, who was growing paler by the moment nodded. The woman sighed and led the two of them to a room full of vials.

“Which poison?” She asked her son.

“God’s tear,” The boy responded. The woman reached over and grabbed a vial and bade Byleth to drink it. Byleth never drank anything so quickly in her life and she nearly collapsed.

“Habibi, you will watch over her, you got that? She needs bed rest.” The boy nodded and watched his mother leave. He went to Byleth’s side and helped her stand.

“We’re going to my room,” He explained. Byleth nodded weakly and the they walked away together.

Byleth had grown incredibly weak, a side effect of the antidote. The boy, whom she now knew as Claude, took care of her as punishment for accidentally poisoning her. When they were alone, Claude would slip into their shared tongue and ask her as many questions as he could, but when there might be any prying ears, he slipped back into his native. Byleth took quick note of this. It was the same thing his mother did. It was if they were afraid of being seen as different.

“I noticed that you are Almyran and Fodlanese,” Byleth remarked one day. Claude froze, eyes locked on her. “It’s not something you see everyday, but I suppose that’s where you and I are similar. I’m not something you’d see everyday either.”

“How so?” He asked her curiously.

“I’m not what you call… emotive. I scare people because I can’t feel anything.”

“I saw that first hand when you fought my cousins,” He explained. “I wouldn’t say you’re not emotive, though. You do little things here and there that show some sort of emotion, I’d say.”

“That’s a first,” She sighed. “All the mercenaries in my father’s group tease me about not feeling anything.”

“Doesn’t that bother you?!” Claude asked angrily. Byleth paused and thought hard.

“..... It does….” She admitted. Claude’s expression soften somewhat.

“See, you can feel things!” He pointed out to her. For the first time in her life, a shocked look came to her face. Claude smiled. 

“.... I suppose you’re right…”

“Byleth!” A familiar voice called out. Byleth’s head whipped around and she saw her father standing in the doorway. Claude jumped off the bed and moved so her father could go to her. Byleth felt her be surrounded by her father’s arms. A small voice appeared at the back of her head. She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to figure out what the voice said. Her expression softened and she knew what she had to do. 

She wrapped her arms around her father, returning the hug. He stiffened, but welcomed it with much joy. He released his little one and knelt down next to the bed.

“Lady Lilith told me you accidentally got poisoned while protecting her son, is that right?” He asked her. Byleth nodded.

“Claude has been helping me recover for the past few days. Antidote made me feel sick,” She explained.

“I finished the job. You feel like you’re ready to go?” He asked her. Byleth nodded, then turned to look at Claude.

“Thank you for helping me,” She told him. A blush came to his face.

“No, thank you for helping me! Sorry for accidentally getting you poisoned though,” He said nervously.

“It wasn’t that bad,” She lied. Claude saw right through the lie- knew that she had gotten quite sick from it, but realized that the lie was not for him, but for her father. So he wouldn’t worry. She extended her hand to him. “Till we meet again, Claude.”

“Till we meet again…” he repeated quietly, almost inaudibly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s that SiCk Claudeleth/Claudleth/Bylaude content

**Author's Note:**

> Starting off with a bit of a parallel to the beginning of the game, addressing the war dream. I’m gonna write these as ideas come to me. No real big plan at the moment. Feel free to drop ideas in the comments below though!


End file.
